Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
“Tenderness of heart is the peculiar charm of the female character.”
Dr. John Gregory, A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters
It was early when a sound disturbed Richard from a deep sleep. So early that a single thread of morning light crept through a gap in the draperies.
“Richard?” It was the lowest of whispers floating through the air of the large, quiet bedroom. It sounded like Perry. Richard turned his head in awakening confusion, his eyes bleary from sleep. The connecting door to his rooms was slightly ajar, and a blurry face was peering at him.
“Richard?”
His heart sank. This could not be good. He gave a nod of acknowledgment, and the door closed.
Sitting up in Sophia’s bed, he rubbed his eyes to restore his vision before easing quietly from under the covers.
Once he was on his feet, he searched around for his nightshirt and robe.
Dressing hurriedly, he crept from the room back to his chambers, opening and closing the door with the greatest of care.
He did not wish to disturb Sophia after their distressing evening.
Perry stood at the fireplace, his forearm leaning against the mantel while he waited for Richard to gather his wits.
“What is it?” Richard was afraid to hear the answer, steeling his nerve for what new crisis his brother had come to inform him of.
“I was just returning home when one of the Johns called me into the hall. It would seem that a rock was thrown through the window of your study about thirty minutes ago. The window is shattered, but the servants did not wish to disturb you. You have an injury of some sort, from what I gather?”
Richard raised his head, staring at the ceiling in frustration. “I was at Drury Lane with the countess. When I stepped out of the box, Lord Stanford happened to be passing by. Without so much as a word, he turned and punched me square in the face, accusing me of carrying on with his ace of spades.”
“Ace of spades—he is involved with a widow? Never say you mean Lady Partridge? I thought you decided to stay away from that woman when she tried to convince you to?—”
“I know why I steer clear of that woman. Her preferences are far too eclectic for my sensibilities.”
Perry choked back a laugh. “Eclectic! My, what a gentleman you have become.”
“I would have no soul left to redeem if I followed the paths she wished to lead me down. She and Father would have made perfect companions with their questionable indulgences. But that is beside the point, because Stanford claimed a friend told him they saw me leaving her home in January.”
“But we were at Saunton Park for the entire month of January!”
“Precisely. It seems the enemy I have made is not above bending the truth to stir up trouble. I visited the woman’s home only once, and that was back in the Season of 1818—before I realized the nature of her tastes.
Either my adversary has been digging deeply into my past, or they are using scraps of idle gossip from over the years to craft plausible falsehoods. ”
“Given the frequency of these attacks, I would say he is posing plausible lies. How could he have the time to do otherwise? Unless he is well-financed and has a team doing his bidding?”
“We are going about our own investigation the wrong way. It is too slow, and I need results. We should make a short list of who would be this energetic, vicious, unrelenting, and angry. Then direct the runners to investigate those men first.”
“Agreed. There is no predicting what this lunatic will try next.”
Richard stood hesitantly in the middle of the room. He was so weary, his body felt like it was being crushed by the weight of failed responsibility. Walking over to the bed, he dropped down and asked the question which had been haunting the dark recesses of his mind these past weeks.
“Perry, am I our father?”
“Jingo! No!” His brother’s reply was so utterly vehement that Richard was distracted from his worries. “Lord Saunton—ahem—I mean, our father was the devil incarnate. Why would you think you are him?”
“I have spent years indulging in reckless pursuits, and now my wife and son are paying the price,” Richard admitted, his voice heavy with regret.
Perry let out a hollow laugh. “Reckless, perhaps. But our father? He went far beyond recklessness before I was even born. The man had no conscience—no moral compass of any kind. I was glad when he finally passed. You, however … I would mourn deeply if something happened to you. That is why I am helping you now. Do you think I would lift a finger to aid the fiend who sired us? Never. I would sooner be out on the street lobbing rocks myself. But you, brother, are a far better man than he ever was.”
Richard groaned. “Stuff, Perry, now you provide me with new worries! Do you think, mayhap, once this is over, that I will need to determine if we have illegitimate kin out in the world?”
Perry shuddered, his head falling forward in his pained despair to rest on the forearm balanced on the mantel. “I had not stopped to think, but I would say it is almost a certainty.”
One step at a time, Richard.
“Never mind that thought for now. We will settle this disaster first. Once it is done, we can discuss if we wish to investigate the sins of our father.”
Perry raised his head and nodded. “I will inform Shaw to come and assist you. We can meet in your study once I find some sustenance.”
Knocking on the door of Richard’s study before entering, Sophia stopped in dismay when she saw that one of the windows facing the street was boarded up and a maid was sweeping up glass from the floor.
Perry rose when she entered and made to leave the room. “I will look into this, brother.” With that, the Balfour brother left the study.
Richard dismissed the maid and came around his desk to gather Sophia’s hand in his. Once the door was closed, he led her to the armchairs and had her take a seat before settling in the opposite chair.
“What happened?”
“Someone threw a rock at the window in the early hours of the morning.”
Sophia’s fear and irritation soared. “Are you going to continue to pretend this is not a campaign of some sort?”
Richard contemplated her for a moment. “I should have known better than to attempt to fool you. Perry and I believe this is the work of one person.”
“So you finally admit it!”
“I apologize. I did not wish to alarm you while I investigated the matter. But I should have realized you are too clever to not make the connections.” He looked away, his expression pained.
“I feel terrible about this. My past behavior is plaguing our household, and it is not fair to you. I hope you will forgive me while I try to sort out the havoc I have caused.”
“That is not what upsets me. I thought we agreed to work together, and now you finally admit that you have been shutting me out. I could have contributed to solving this situation, but instead you decided to keep it from me like I am some sort of witless fool!”
Richard brought up his hands to rub his face.
She finally noticed the weariness. His lips were pinched, and he was pale.
Was he sleeping, she wondered with a sharp pang of guilt at the recollection of the hours they had burned away in each other’s arms. She wished to ease his suffering, but she also wanted to hit him for being dense.
“I apologize, Sophia. None of this has been about your wits. It has been my shame to visit this on you and Ethan. My dark past has exposed the two of you to danger, and I am having difficulties with my conscience. But there is no time to sort it out because I must find the culprit behind this to protect you and Ethan. What if this worsens and the attacks become more dangerous … more lethal?”
Sophia stared at him. “We will work together to resolve this. We will increase our vigilance. Have you told me everything?”
That was when her dear, wonderful, exasperating husband looked her straight in the eye—and lied. “Yes.”
Sophia ground her teeth in frustration, forcing a smile onto her face. The lying reprobate still would not inform her about the note.
“I am going for tea with my aunt and cousin this afternoon. I will take the shorter John and a footman.”
Richard inclined his head. “Of course.”
Sophia forced herself to endure the formality of tea with her aunt, while in the back of her mind, she continued to fume.
How was she to assist meaningfully if Richard insisted on keeping secrets from her?
The question could not be answered while they sipped on tea and Lady Moreland informed her of the latest on dits.
I do not care! My family is in danger and my husband will not talk to me, she wanted to scream. But she smiled and nibbled on dainty biscuits and sipped her tea from a delicate cup while her aunt’s words flowed over her like water over a rock.
Lily gave her a light pinch. Sophia realized that the room was quiet and her elegant aunt was staring at her. “My apologies. I was woolgathering for a moment. What was the question?”
Her aunt, a handsome woman, tilted her head in bemusement.
She had the same enormous eyes as her daughter Lily, and her hair was a deep chocolate brown with only a few strands of silver to mark her age under her jaunty turban.
After a moment, Lady Moreland’s mouth curled into a knowing smile, and she discreetly picked at her bodice with slender, graceful fingers.
“I recall that I had a tendency to woolgather in the first few months of my marriage to Uncle Hugh.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Sophia saw Lily wince and stick out her tongue to simulate gagging. Sophia herself did her best not to grimace at the thought of what her aunt alluded to. Her cousin cleverly interjected to change the subject. “Mama asked why you left the theatre early?”
“Oh. I was not feeling well, so Richard insisted we leave early.”
“Lord Stanford punching your husband in the face during intermission was not the cause, then?”